In a recent poll conducted by Harvard-Harris, a startling 51% of young Americans aged between 18 and 24 expressed the belief that the resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict should involve the dissolution of Israel and its handover to Hamas and the Palestinians.
This viewpoint starkly contrasts with the preferences of other age groups, with a mere 4% of Americans aged 65 and above sharing this sentiment.
The poll, conducted this week, revealed that only 32% of the younger demographic supported a two-state solution, while a scant 17% advocated for other Arab states to absorb Palestinian populations. The majority opinion among this age group is a stark deviation from the overall American preference for a two-state solution.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) expressed his concern over these findings, stating, "These individuals siding with evil over democracy should be a wake-up call. Ideological rot among young Americans, driven by woke values and victim culture, has gotten so bad theyve convinced themselves to sympathize with actual terrorists who hate America."
The survey further revealed that 60% of the 18-24 age group believed that Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack could be justified by the grievances of Palestinians. This perspective is held by only 27% of the overall American population. Concurrently, 58% of the same demographic agreed with the statement that "Hamas would like to commit genocide against the Jews in Israel."
When questioned about whether Israel was committing genocide against those in Gaza or merely defending itself and attempting to eliminate Hamas, 60% of young Americans asserted that Israel was committing genocide. This viewpoint is shared by only 37% of the overall American population. Additionally, 53% of this age group believed that students should be allowed to advocate for the "genocide of Jews" without facing repercussions.
A significant 67% of young Americans stated that Jews "should be treated as oppressors," a stance that 73% of the overall American population disagreed with, labeling it a "false ideology." Despite this, more than four out of five Americans expressed their support for Israel over Hamas. Among the 18-24 age group, however, support was evenly split at 50-50.
The survey also found that 69% of Americans of all ages were closely following the conflict, a figure that rose to 81% among the 18-24 demographic. These findings corroborate earlier studies indicating that young Americans are among the most pro-Hamas. A separate poll conducted by Cygnal shortly after the massacre revealed that 57% of American Muslims believed Hamas' attack against Israel was justified.
Pollster Mark Penn commented on these findings, stating, "The truth is that false narratives have been allowed to fester and sink into large numbers of Generation Z students." Several theories have been proposed to explain the sympathetic view of Hamas among young Americans, including the influence of 'woke' professors and the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which has been criticized for promoting harmful content.
Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, has referred to TikTok as "digital fentanyl" and accused the company of "brainwashing our youth against America."
The Harvard-Harris poll was conducted between December 13-14 among 2,034 registered voters.
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